Saudi Women Driving

Friday, March 16, 2018

From the March 17, 2018 Saudi Gazette. You can link to the story here, and the text is below.

Female driving instructors complain of contract abuse

Saudi Gazette report

WOMEN campuses in Saudi Arabia plunged into a
serious competition to become the first to give driving lessons to
their female students and staff, no sooner than the royal decree
overturning the ban on women driving was announced.

Princess
Noura Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) was in the forefront of this
competition announcing the first driving academy for women in the
country. Within just three days of the royal announcement, the
university said on Twitter that it was ready to establish a driving
academy for women in cooperation with the relevant authorities. Other
universities followed suit saying that they too would establish schools
to teach women the basics of driving.

Driving schools are
expected to be in effect soon although the Traffic Department has not
yet shared the exact dates or the requirements for driving schools
around the country. Carmaker Ford Motor started a hands-on driving. At
Effat University in Jeddah, some 250 female students participated in a
three-day Driving Skills for Life Program, a global initiative Ford
introduced in the Kingdom for women for the first time.

In early
January, Noura University announced that it started accepting driving
instructor applications. Women from all parts of Saudi Arabia go to
Noura, the world's largest women-only campus, to pursue higher
education. As such, it is undoubtedly the natural venue to launch the
first driving academy to give practical training to women drivers.

The
university said the applicants to the post of driving instructor must
have a valid driver's license and a certified trainer permit, and they
must be either Saudi or a resident living in the country.

As the
university is set to start the driving academy, a group of instructors
it had hired complained to Al-Hayat newspaper about the lack of clarity
and transparency in their employment contracts.

They pointed out
that what was presented to them was a job offer at the beginning of
their training period. There was a clause that stipulated a SR7,000
penalty if the trainer resigned before the end of the two-year contract,
they said.

The trainers said their salaries were much lower than
their expectations. They said the university had announced an
attractive pay package through its official Twitter account for the
successful candidates. To their surprise, the salary offered to them on
hiring was just SR4,000 with an additional 10 percent for transportation
and 20 percent in housing allowance, which is very law considering the
current economic changes and the high cost of living.

One of the
applicants complained of the injustice during the evaluation of the
admission test, noting that the time allowed for the test was just two
minutes and it was held at a very narrow place.

She tried to
retake the test but her request was rejected, she said while indicating
that she possessed a driver's license from the United States.

"We
have been contacted by e-mail giving us appointment for an interview,
and then the supervisor told us everyone of us was accepted. But I was
surprised when my name was not included in the training schedule. When I
asked the supervisor, she said there was a new list and I was excluded.
When I inquired about the reasons, she said she couldn't divulge it,"
the applicant said.

Another trainer coming from the Eastern
Province said she was excited to land the job but soon became
demotivated due to the work conditions.

"The salary is not
attractive, nor the work environment. I was accepted in a job in the
area where I lived for twice the salary I am offered now, but my dream
was to earn the title of the first woman driving trainer in the
country," she said.

She said one of her colleagues was expelled
from the academy's office in an unprofessional manner because she
demanded a reasonable salary. "My colleague expected to receive up to
SR8,000 a month, but the employee made fun of her saying 'you are not a
good fit for us'," she added.

Lawyer Abdulkarim Al-Qadi told
Al-Hayat that a period of probation should be specified in any
employment contract. He said such a period should not exceed 90 days
according to Article 53 of the Saudi Labor Law. Either party may
terminate the contract during the probation period without any
liabilities toward the other, he added.

In its latest move in
string of social and economic reforms, Saudi Arabia announced on Sept.
26, 2018, that it would lift an informal ban on women driving that
existed in the country. A royal decree issued by Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Salman said women would be allowed to drive in the
Kingdom by June 2018, setting in motion a chain of activities and
mechanisms for preparing the groundwork before the radical shift in the
way women in the country conducted their affairs took effect.

For
decades, the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia has been the center
of extensive debates not only in social circles within the country but
in foreign media as well. The royal decree referred to the negative
repercussions of not allowing Saudi females to drive as well as the
positive effects of lifting the ban would have on the freedom of
mobility for women within the limits set by Islamic law.

In any
case the authorities had asserted time and again that the prohibition on
women driving in the Kingdom was a social matter, as there was no
actual law or religious edict banning it.

However, many Saudi
women are already skilled drivers with a large number of them driving
own vehicles while staying abroad for education or other purposes.
Moreover, Bedouin women in rural areas of Saudi Arabia drove cars and
even trucks especially for movement of goods within large farms.
However, they rarely ventured on to public roads in their vehicles.

JEDDAH
— The Department of Education in Makkah has started training as many as
770 women security coordinators in all girl schools in the three
educational levels on safe driving.

The department has chosen 22
training programs for the coordinators who in turn will train the women
staff in schools and girls in the third secondary school year.

The training programs will cover training on driving, the traffic laws, safety precautions and road manners.

The
programs are designed to teach women holding educational and
administrative jobs in the Ministry of Education the best methods of
achieving traffic safety when women start driving in the Kingdom from
June.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport has invited Saudi
women to its "Safe Driving Environment" forum to test driving
simulations using the ministry's smart transportation system.

The
ministry has provided an opportunity for women drivers to experience
safe driving in preparation for the implementation of the royal order
lifting the ban on women driving in the country.

The official
account of the ministry invited women via "Twitter" on Saturday to visit
their pavilion to attend the "Safe Environment for Driving" forum,
which is organized at King Saud University for female students using the
ministry's smart system.

The ministry has partnered with King
Saud University to organize the "Safe Environment for Driving" forum for
the first time, which is the largest platform to support women drivers
in the Kingdom yet.

Dr. Inas Al-Issa, vice dean of students
affairs at the university, said the cultural forum was a response to the
royal decree allowing women to drive.

She added it revitalizes
the university’s role in society as it helps to raise awareness and
disseminate the regulations and laws issued by the state’s bodies.

The change in the law on women driving comes into effect in late June.

Driving
opens the door to unparalleled mobility and freedom for Saudi women.
Now, they can get to jobs more easily without relying on anyone for
transportation. This is especially important in areas without easily
accessible public transport.

As of last year, the unemployment
rate in Saudi Arabia was 12.7 percent, which meant 906,552 people were
without jobs. About 75 percent of that number were women, which
hopefully will drop drastically, with more women becoming mobile.

Norah O'Donnell of CBS News reports on how Saudi women are getting ready to drive in June.
This was published on March 14, 2018. A link to the story is here, and the text is pasted in below.
First, here is a link to the video broadcast in the US on March 14, 2018. Link to CBS News video

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is making unprecedented changes
in Saudi Arabia with a large focus on the role of women. The kingdom is
the last country that denies women the freedom to drive, but that won't
be for long. "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell went to the
world's largest all-female university in Riyadh, where Saudi women are
test-driving their freedom.
Dr. Ruba Alzuhairi is studying to
become a surgeon, but she's also studying for her driver's license. She
is one of the women paving the way at the driving school at Princess
Nourah bint Abdulrahman University – Saudi Arabia's first driving school
for women.
"This will also decrease some of the cost that I'm
paying on taxis, on a driver. This will help me be independent,"
Alzuhairi said.

"This is a small change, but it's a significant impact on our
society," said another woman studying there. She says men are
"significantly positive" about the idea. "That's why it's the right
timing. Back in 2011 and 2013 there was negative reaction."
What's changed? "The whole society," says another woman.

Students at Princess Nora University's driving school

CBS News

Starting in June, women above the age of 18 will no longer have to rely on drivers or male relatives to get around. Wearing abayas – traditional garments they wear in public – Saudi women are now learning to drive at special facilities.
ike
the other instructors, Dr. Deema Alsekait has a driver's license from
living abroad. Hers is from the state of Virginia. Saudi leaders lifted
the driving ban in part to boost women's participation in the workforce
as the economy diversifies away from oil. "I can't wait. I'm so happy to be a part of it," Alsekait said.
But challenges remain.

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud

CBS News

"We
have two obstacles facing women here in our country. Transportation and
child care. And we try from this school to solve these two problems,"
said Dr. Huda Alameel, director of Princess Nora University.
Those
solutions include a nursery and a traffic village for older children.
The lesson? That it's normal for girls to drive. Much has changed for
Saudi women, who are entering new professions and graduating from
universities in record numbers.
Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud is championing women's rights and she says driving is part of a bigger vision.
"To
envisage change, you actually have to have a sense of where you'd like
to go…. We would like women to have the opportunity for mobility, for
decision-making, and for social integration. Today, mobility, June is
going to be pretty much resolved," Princess Reema said. "Every and any
woman will tell you, 'I want more, and I want it right now.' The issue
is, right now for me is tomorrow for somebody else. So how do I make
sure we all get to where we need to go together? That's actually a more
difficult conversation than you would actually believe."
Driving,
as one student put it, is just a "quick win." "It's not everything,"
she said. "It's progress. The trajectory now is just going forward and
not backwards."
But the women agree they are witnessing history – and they're taking part in it.
"We're the ones that are going to tell our grandkids about it, that we lived through this."Watch
O'Donnell's full "60 Minutes" interview with the country's crown
prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on Sunday, March 18, 2018, two days before
the young Saudi leader is to meet with President Donald Trump

Al Arabiyah English reported the story below on March 12, 2018. A link to the story is here, text below.

In preparation to implement Saudi King Salman’s decree allowing women
to drive, the Saudi Ministry of Transport invited Saudi Women to its
"Safe Driving Environment" forum to test driving simulations using the
ministry's smart transportation system.

The
Ministry of Transport in Saudi Arabia has provided an opportunity for
Saudi women to experience safe driving in preparation for the
implementation of the Royal Order in June.

The
official account of the ministry invited women via "Twitter" on
Saturday (March 10, 2018) to visit their pavilion to attend the "Safe
Environment for driving" forum, which is organized at the University of
King Saud for female students using the smart system of the Ministry.

The
Ministry of Transport has partnered with King Saud University to
organize the "Safe Environment for Driving " forum for the first time,
which is the largest platform to support women drivers in the kingdom.

Press release of March 13, 2018 from Nissan about their #SheDrives campaign (featured in our blog). A link to the release, carried in Albawaba Business, is here, and the text is below.

Nissan participated today in Dubai Lynx, the international festival
of creativity, where the automaker shared its #SheDrives campaign that
engaged with Saudi women following the decision to grant licenses.

Nissan
was the first automotive brand to react to the Royal Decree. The topic
was addressed by Nissan through different content until January 28, when
an emotionally engaging and experiential video was posted on Nissan’s
digital platforms that put Saudi women behind the wheel as they attend
their first driving lesson. Each woman in the video touched upon how
they still faced some subtle degree of resistance from their direct male
relatives around the topic. The women then proceed to their lesson, but
with surprise driving instructors: Their proud husbands, fathers and
brothers hopped in the passenger seats to give the women their
first-ever driving lesson, resulting in an inspirational three-minute
video.

Hussein M. Dajani, Nissan’s General
Manager for Digital and Customer Experience in Africa, the Middle East,
Turkey and India, spoke at the prestigious event, where he discussed the
analysis and approach behind the campaign and outlined the milestones
that have paved the way for Saudi women, including universal suffrage in
2015. However, throughout this momentum of increasing social and
political transformation, the communications and marketing industry has
been slow to take bold steps towards engaging Saudi women through more
meaningful and direct methods, Dajani noted.
“A series of events
have caused a societal shift in the role Saudi women play over the
years. This shift has been further accelerated with Saudi Vision 2030
leading to higher women employment rates and recently lifting the ban on
women driving effective June 2018. For years, brands have been
struggling with the polarity found between existing mindsets in the
Kingdom, leaving marketers and brand owners alike often opting for 'safe
routes' when communicating with Saudi women,” Dajani said. “It is time
for brands to rethink their communications approach in the Saudi
market. Our #SheDrives campaign illustrates how brands can play an
impactful role in the lives of Saudi women.”
Given the interest
today in women’s rights across the world, the video was timely and
meaningful far beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders, and for that reason all
markets in which Nissan operates drove the story on their channels.
Content was provided in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Japanese.

The Arab News published this story on March 12, 2018. A link to the story is here, and the text is below.

Uber has announced “Masaruky” (“your path” in Arabic) — a two year
initiative that aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce
through access to affordable transportation, in addition to increasing
women’s access to flexible, part-time economic opportunities through the
Uber technology.The campaign will kick off with an initial SR1
million ($270,000) pledge to make driving schools accessible to more
women who are interested in learning how to drive but may not have the
resources to do so. Anthony Khoury, Uber regional general manager,
said: “With Masaruky and the announcement of the SR1 million pledge,
we’re seeking to contribute to this new chapter for female mobility in
the Kingdom. In the same way that our technology has brought a positive
impact to more than 18 cities around the Kingdom, this will help us in
further supporting women toward achieving their economic ambitions and
goals — because not only do we enable more convenient ways to move
around cities, but we also strive to drive change that is positive,
meaningful and economically empowering”This comes on the back of
months of research to understand what transport solutions will best
serve Saudi women on the road to Vision 2030. There are currently 1.3
million women in the Saudi workplace — 22 percent of the total
workforce, a figure that the Kingdom’s government expects to increase to
30 percent by 2030. The research, in collaboration with Ipsos, has
found that 93 percent of Saudi women were positive about the recent
lifting of the driving ban, mostly because it will allow them more
flexibility to work. About 78 percent said they are likely to get a
driving license post ban removal, and almost a third (31 percent) of
those surveyed, indicated that they were interested in driving as an
earning opportunity. An efficient way to make some extra disposable
income and flexible hours were cited as some of the top reasons driving
could be an earning opportunity for women in Uber. Uber has been
well received by driver-partners in the Kingdom since its launch. The
company recently announced that it has already registered over 150,000
Saudi partner-drivers on the app, 65 percent of whom utilize Uber
part-time.

Bernd Debusmann Jr of Arabian Business reports this story on March 11, 2018. A link to the story is here, and the story is pasted in below.

Car sales are expected to grow 9 percent a year until 2025

A Saudi woman has a driving lesson in Jeddah on March 7, 2018.
Photo: AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images.

Twenty percent of Saudi women – about three million - will drive by 2020, according to a new report from PwC Middle East.
According to the report, entitled “Women driving the
transformation of KSA automotive market”, the kingdom’s royal decree
that allowed women to drive from June 2018 will create new job
opportunities for Saudi nationals. It will also lead to incremental new
capital investment in infrastructure, increase insurance revenue, and be
the catalyst for the creation of new, women-only driving schools.
“Saudi women have been behind numerous achievements and now
visibly behind the wheel,” said Hala Kudwah, PwC Saudi Arabia financial
services and consulting leader.
“When
considering the scale of the market, our analysis tells us that there’s
an opportunity to increase the number of driving institutions in the
kingdom by over 50 percent, an increase that will be translated into job
opportunities for our females.”
The report noted that female drivers will also have a significant impact on areas ranging from car sales to motor insurance.
Car sales, for example, are expected to grow by 9 percent each
year until 2025 due to the demands of the new female customer segment,
while the annual growth rate for car leasing is expected to have an
annu
Additionally, the motor insurance market is expected to grow 9 percent annually to reach SR 30 billion ($8 billion) in 2020.
"There would be dependencies such as necessary infrastructure and
services to support female drivers; for example, women driving
instructors, driving schools, licenses issuance, etc,” Kudwah added.
“However we are mindful of the significance of early successes to
fully reap the fruits of this milestone in the women empowerment
journey.”
Laurent Depolla, PwC Middle East’s partner, deals strategy and
preparations, noted that the forecast of the kingdom’s automotive market
presents “an array of opportunities for market players and investors.”
al growth rate of 4 percent between 2017 and 2025.

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About Me

I'm a freelance writer based in Maine. I lived in Saudi Arabia for many years. I studied Arabic in college eons ago and married my college sweetheart, a fellow Arabic student. My first novel, A CARAVAN OF BRIDES, is set in Saudi Arabia. I'm working on my second novel while writing feature stories about the Middle East. I am also the co-founder and Administrative Director of the Arabic Music Retreat.